Table 1.

Health materials sampled

Health activities	Material type			Are these materials representative of those in everyday use?	How many patients would be exposed to this material?	What is the potential impact of failure to understand this material	Weight (frequency of exposure x potential impact)
	Text only	Text + numeracy	Total	Mean scorea	Mean scoreb	Mean scorec	Range 0–9d
Health promotion	0	13	13	1.8	1.8	2.0	3.6
Protecting personal and public safety	4	10	14	2.0	1.9	2.6	4.9
Disease prevention	2	10	12	2.1	2.0	2.0	4.0
Managing illness	3	12	15	2.2	2.0	2.4	4.8
Systems navigation	5	5	10	2.1	2.1	2.2	4.6
Total	14	50	64

^a0= not at all; 1 = slightly; 2 = moderately; 3 = highly.

^b1= a few; 2 = many; 3 = most.

^c1 = low; 2 = medium; 3 = high.